Work Text:
What is better than dating Spider-Man?
In Ned’s case, it’s dating Peter Parker.
Sure, Spider-Man has cool powers, saves people, helps out the Avengers, and whatnot.
But Peter Parker is a sweet, awkward, and nerdy kid who has a slight obsession with science and can recite movie quotes as fast as he can quote the first hundred digits in the number, pi.
So much cooler than Spider-Man in Ned’s eyes.
The two sixteen-year-olds have been together for several months now and the almost famous “Guy in the Chair” cannot be happier.
Ned never thought in a million years that his best friend could actually like him back, like him enough to want to be his boyfriend.
The dark-haired teen can still remember it as if it happened yesterday: the anxiety, the longing...the hoping that he didn’t just throw away ten years of friendship.
But then Peter said he liked him too.
And Ned realized that this wasn’t a pipe dream, that this could be something more than his innermost wishes and yearnings.
It’s real.
It’s actually real, Ned thinks, the feeling of Peter’s hand in his own, how his heart flutters when they kiss, all of this is real.
So things have been pretty damn good for Ned as of late: he’s doing well in school, has an amazing best friend-turned-boyfriend, the decathlon team is on track to nationals, nothing can possibly stand in his way.
Famous last words.
Today is an ordinary Friday - well, an awesome Friday because it’s Friday - and Ned is walking casually to his locker to get his books for his next class, backpack around his shoulders and hands in his jacket pockets.
The boy makes his way through the crowd of unruly students, all pushing and shoving just to get their respective destinations. He finally arrives at his locker and as he’s switching out his books, he catches an unexpected movement out of the corner of his right eye.
Ned closes his locker door and turns fully toward the situation at hand: at the end of the hall, he sees Flash along with some of his goons huddled together in a semi-circle formation, talking loudly but the teen is too far away to make out what they’re saying. Ned doesn’t need to listen to know what they’re doing, however.
They’ve trapped someone, and they’re going to spend the next three minutes berating the poor, innocent student, for…well, for the hell of it.
It’s what Flash does best.
Ned rolls his eyes as he starts to walk in their direction, keeping his head down so he can avoid possibly being the next target of verbal abuse.
Not that it’s actually scary. Flash himself is about as terrifying as a damn ferret…but his friends are a bit above the rodent level of intimidating…and they have gotten physical on some occasions.
The teenager then stops in his tracks, making an unknowing student almost bump into him, and lifts his head up with a tired sigh.
Fine, I’ll break it up.
Ned then starts making his way over to them directly, and the closer he gets to the group, the more he can overhear.
“So if you don’t like penis or vagina, then what do you like?”
The sidekick pauses where he stands, feeling his arms start to bristle with goosebumps. No…they’re not talking about who he thinks they’re talking about. Surely Peter isn’t the only asexual who goes to this school.
And the hero isn’t even out yet.
Yeah…it’s somebody else, it’s definitely somebody else.
But then the young genius’s fears are confirmed when he hears the shaky voice of his boyfriend, “Just-Just leave me the fuck alone, Flash.”
In true expected fashion, the bully does anything but leave him alone, “Awwww is little Penis gonna cry? Is that why you don’t like penis, ‘cuz yours is so tiny?”
The goons all start laughing, one guy that looks twice Flash’s size especially lets out an obnoxious cackle that makes his face look even more punchable. He then says, “Maybe he’s got a micropenis.”
Oh, fuck no.
Peter’s voice is heard as his boyfriend rushes the last few steps, the sass making him almost smile if it weren’t for the trembling undertone, “Holy shit, are ya-are ya that d-desperate to find someone who has a micropenis like you?”
Ned darts between two of Flash’s punks before the spiderling can say anything more. He looks at his boyfriend and sees the relief that filters through him.
But that doesn’t wash away the redness from his face or the exhaustion in his eyes.
The sidekick blurts out as he takes a step in front of Peter, ignoring the rages of protest from everyone else, “What the fuck is going on?” He then takes a good look at the Flash and sees something he’s holding in his hands.
A little something with stripes of purple, black, white, and grey.
Oh, shit…shit, shit, shit.
It’s a keychain, the same one Ned gave him not long after Peter came out to him, way before they started dating. The design is simple with the asexual flag printed on a circle that’s the size of a standard pin.
Just small enough to where no one would notice, but big enough in importance to Peter.
Flash holds up said item and looks at Ned in both confusion and triumph, “So, you’re dating this?”
Ned ignores the question, annoyance now transitioning to fury, “Give it back, this has nothing to do with you.”
The bully simply shrugs, “I just wanna know how it works.”
“How what works, what the hell are you talking about?”
Peter speaks up softly, “He means me.”
Ned takes a brief glance behind him to see his boyfriend, arms crossed in embarrassment and giving him the most heartbreaking look he’s seen on him in a long, long time.
And that makes the teen even angrier. Peter already gets insecure enough about his sexuality without Flash’s two cents, this bullshit is the last thing the guy needs to hear. Ned turns back to the rodent with eyes narrowed, the definition of pissed off, “Our relationship has nothing to do with you, it’s no one else’s business but ours. Now for fuck’s sake, give it back.”
Flash tightens his grip on the keychain, smudging the symbol with his grimy hands, and puts it in his pocket instead. He gives an anything but friendly smile, “So what do you do?”
“Take out the garbage…and I’m looking at him right now.” Ned concludes with an eyebrow slightly raised at his own sass.
Flash rolls his eyes, “If he’s not letting you fuck him, then who do you fuck?”
And this guy’s at a school for geniuses?
“What Peter and I do or don’t do is none of your fucking business, but lemme get one thing straight: I am not cheating on him if that’s what you think. I would never do that.” Ned concludes, crossing his arms to show he’s not fucking around.
“If he’s not letting you have sex, then how do you have sex -”
“With myself!” The dark-haired teen hears a snort from Peter and a mumble that sounds like “For fuck’s sake.”
This whole damn conversation summed up in three simple words.
Ned continues, “And he’s not making me not have sex. He doesn’t like it and I chose not to have sex. If I needed sex in a relationship, we wouldn’t’ve even gotten together.” He probably shouldn’t have gone into so much detail, the teen thinks, but since it’s out in the open, might as well put his cards on the table.
Flash says, a shit-eating grin still plastered on his face, “God, what drug were you on when you agreed to that?”
“You fucking asshole.” Ned starts to charge at the prick but Peter holds him back, saying, “C’mon, he’s not worth it.”
“Yeah, listen to your mannequin.” The bell rings before anyone can say anything more. The two teens see the gang rush off to their next class, Flash damn near skipping with victory, still wielding the keychain in his pocket.
Ned turns to the hero, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Peter grabs his backpack that’s on the floor and swings it over his shoulder, looking slightly better than he was but the hurt is still there.
The hurt that will take a millennium to fix.
The heavyset teen asks, etched in concern, “Are you okay?”
Peter mumbles as they walk to their next class, “Yeah, fine...sorry about the keychain.”
“You don’t need to apologize, it wasn’t your fault -”
“But I was still an idiot.” The spider-boy says, raising his voice slightly, “I was stupid enough to leave it at school.”
“How did he find it, anyway?”
“They cornered me while my locker was still open and Flash grabbed it. So yeah, I’m an idiot -”
Ned cuts him off, voice firm, “No, you aren’t, he’s the idiot, all of them are idiots. Babe, please don’t let this get to you.”
Judging by the silence that quickly follows, it seems like it already has.
The teen then asks, “I didn’t say too much, did I?”
Peter shakes his head, “No…you were great, actually.” A ghost of a smile escapes him, making his boyfriend reciprocate. However, it falls just as fast as it came, “You’re not, um…you’re not….”
“Peter, whatever you’re thinking, stop, Flash is just getting to you -”
The intern cuts him off, “You’re not bored or anything, right?”
Ned’s eyes widen in surprise, “What?”
“Y’know, um, you’re not…you’re not bored, or-or anything, right?”
The sidekick stops them both where they’re standing. Peter glances around at the rapidly emptying hallway, “Uh, babe, we’re gonna be late -”
“I’m not bored.” Ned grabs onto the other’s shoulders, lightly squeezing in reassurance, “I’m never bored when I’m around you.”
Peter rolls his eyes, “Ned -”
“I’m serious.” Said teen squeezes once more and speaks softly so no one can overhear them, “I love hanging out with you, I love that nothing much has changed except for our title. I love the hand-holding and the kissing and everything that we do. I’m not gonna let something as silly as sex or a prick who looks like a ferret get in the way of that...I care about you too much.”
Another adorable smile spreads across the spiderling’s face, making his boyfriend’s heart burst with butterflies, “Thanks.”
Ned lets go and they don’t say anything more as they resume their trek to the classroom, getting to their destination just in time for the second bell to ring.
As they sit at their usual desks, Ned looks back over at Peter to see that his smile has fallen once again.
If only I have the power to read minds…Flash, what the fuck did you do?
-
Peter is quiet for the rest of the school day, almost silent to the point where one could think he went mute.
Which gives his boyfriend so much worry that he might have an ulcer. Can teenagers even get ulcers?
The spiderling didn’t participate in any of his other classes, said nothing more than a handful of words when he and Ned worked on their chemistry project, and at lunch, he barely talked or even ate his food, stopping only halfway through his sandwich.
For a guy who has to eat three times as much as the average human and talks more than Captain America in those stupid PSAs, this is bad.
Ned wants to say something but…what is there to say?
Peter got hurt today, in a way that is so much worse than any punch or hit could ever achieve.
And the “Guy in the Chair” has no fucking clue of how to help him. Those words he said earlier apparently have either lost their meaning or the young hero never believed them, to begin with.
The kids are now in history, their last class of the day, and Peter’s mood hasn’t improved.
He hasn’t even said a word to Ned, and they’re sitting right next to each other.
Said teen takes a glance towards Flash sitting on the other side of the room and narrows his eyes at him. What he wouldn’t give to run that dickhead over with his car…if he had a car, that is.
Ned leans towards his boyfriend and whispers excitedly in an effort to lift the boy’s mood, “So, what do you think Mr. Stark will want us to work on today?”
The other teen shrugs wordlessly but a slight half-smile can be seen so Ned counts that as a win. He doesn’t bother to try again for the rest of the class, instead just focusing on not falling asleep at the teacher’s monotone voice.
The subject is already boring enough, why did the school hire a golf commentator to teach it?
The last bell rings at last and the students race out the classroom. After getting their things, Peter and Ned get in the car and Happy takes them to the tower.
Again, the spider-boy doesn’t say more than a simple “Hi” to the chauffeur.
It is so quiet in the car that Happy keeps looking at them in his rearview mirror, face obviously etched in confusion. The bodyguard takes a glance at Ned and gives him a look with narrowed eyebrows that screams, “What the fuck happened?” and said teen simply shrugs, knowing it’s not his place to say.
Peter’s mood is slightly better once they get to the lab, Ned notices. The way Iron Man grins at them and ruffles his protege’s hair, it’s impossible for the intern to not take in the affection.
But that is short-lived, however, as silence takes over once again. Tony is looking at his kid as if he grew a third head; no matter how much the man tries to make small talk, Peter doesn’t say more than a few words at a time, gaze never shifting from his project in front of him.
The billionaire gives Ned a look that mimics Happy’s from earlier and again, the boy shrugs, but he did look at him in a way that showed he knows why his boyfriend is acting like he is.
That didn’t do shit to ease the anxiety the older man clearly has but at least he knows it’s not serious.
Well...the sidekick hopes he knows it’s not serious.
After another half-hour or so of Ned and Tony making small talk to fill the void, nature calls for the teen. He leaves the room to use the bathroom, and when he returns, he grins at hearing his boyfriend’s voice through the double doors, at hearing him actually talking.
But it falls once he gets to those doors. He can now comprehend what Peter is saying and Ned does not like what he’s hearing.
“I just, I don’t think it’s gonna work out.”
Wait, what?!
Ned doesn’t have time to decipher before he hears Tony respond, “Why, what happened? Did he say something, do something?”
Said teen presses his ear against the door, praying that Peter is too distracted by his thoughts to use his super-hearing.
The intern answers, “No, he’s-he’s been great, actually, more than great…he’s amazing.”
“So what’s the problem?”
There is a long pause, so silent that Ned can physically feel his anxiety ticking up and up and -
“I’m asexual.”
Ned rolls his eyes, slumping his shoulders.
Peter, we been knew.
He hears Tony say, “I thought you said you told him -”
“I did and he was great and wonderful and even said he doesn’t care about sex. He literally said all the amazing things I never expected anyone to say…but how can I expect him to be with me since he can’t…y’know, be with me.”
Did he not listen to anything I said earlier?
Tony then says, keeping the same caring tone, “That sounds like it’s his call, kiddo, not yours. If he said he’s okay with it, trust him. He wouldn’t be with you in the first place if he cared about that.”
“I know and the logical part of my brain knows that but…I don’t know.”
“Kid,” Ned can almost picture the hero putting a comforting hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder, “You’re gonna give yourself a concussion with all this overthinking you’re doing.”
Peter giggles slightly, making Ned smile. Only Tony Stark can lift his mood from rock bottom. He then hears his boyfriend say, “That’s not a thing.”
“It oughta be from all that thinking you do. God, do you ever let your brain rest?”
“How can I let it rest when there’s so much thinking to do?”
Tony snorts, “Hardy har har.” There is a brief pause as Ned hears the other teen giggle once more. The billionaire continues, “But Pete, really, just have fun. You guys seem to be good together, don’t try to turn it into something that it’s not. If Ned changes his mind or tries to pressure you into anything, I’ll just kill him.”
A slight snicker escapes Ned at that.
Like that will ever happen.
Peter copies his boyfriend without knowing and chuckles himself, “You make it sound as if it’s as easy as grocery shopping.”
“Oh it’s so much easier than grocery shopping, you ever try to pick which cereal you want? It’s damn near impossible, and why does it have to take up the entire aisle? And don’t get me started on picking out tampons for Pepper.”
The spider-boy continues his giggle-fest, “Okay, okay, I get it, at least there’s only one body to pick from.”
“Exactly.”
There is a lull of silence that follows the laughter and Ned decides it’s as good a time as any to walk in but right when he puts his hand on the doorknob, Tony asks, voice significantly more serious, “What happened?”
“What?”
“What happened to make you think like that? Just last week you wouldn’t stop talking about the guy and now you were contemplating breaking up with him, what gives?”
Ned’s cheeks redden at that, an uncontrollable grin etched on his face.
He really talks about me that much?
“Nothing just...the insecure part of my brain took over, that’s all.”
“Pete, you lie about as good as Pinocchio, now what happened?”
“Mr. Stark, please don’t.”
It’s then that Ned decides to walk in, if Peter won’t say what happened then he will, damn it.
When he walks back in, he sees the two heroes sitting across from each other at a work table, obviously not doing any actual work. The intern looks mildly scared - not wanting to say why he was insecure, Ned assumes - and his mentor is staring at him in parental concern.
They glance at Ned walking in before looking back at each other or in Peter’s case, looking down in shame. The sidekick walks directly up to them, pulling up a random chair and sitting down in between them, and gives the other teenager a look worry, “Peter, if you don’t tell him, I will -”
Said kid cuts him off, eyes widening, “Ned, don’t!”
Tony chimes in, “So something did happen.”
Ned confirms, “Yes, and I told him,” he takes a stern glance at his boyfriend before turning back to the older hero, “To not let Flash get to him.”
“That Flash prick again?”
The dark-haired teen sighs, “When is it not Flash, honestly.”
Peter props his elbows on the table, putting his head in his hands, “Please stop.”
Tony ignores him, turning to Ned, “What did he do?”
The teen takes a breath and steals another glance at Peter before he answers, “He found out Peter is asexual.”
The man’s jaw drops to the floor, “Oh shit. How’d he find out?”
Peter mutters through his hands, “‘Cuz I’m dumb.”
Tony leans forward slightly on the table, gaze not straying from his intern, “Pete, you and I both know that’s not true. How did he find out, and I wanna hear it from you.”
Peter drops his hands, giving off a loud thump as they hit the table, and looks at the other two in utmost embarrassment. He sighs frustratedly before he says, “Ned gave me this ace keychain a ways back, Flash saw it in my locker and took it...and now his disgusting hands have tainted it.”
Tony remarks, voice radiating with anger, “I’m gonna kill that kid.”
“Mr. Stark -”
“I should’ve done it in the first place but you talked me out of it.”
Ned turns to the other teen, “Dude, why’d you talk him out of it -”
“Seriously -”
“Kidding!” Ned holds his hands in mock surrender. He then turns to his hero, “It was more about me than him if we’re being honest.” He releases a small, frustrated groan, “Flash couldn’t get it through his dunce head why I’d be with someone who’s asexual.”
Tony’s eyebrows raise to his hairline and Ned can see the gears moving in his head as everything clicks. The man turns to his kid, “You know everything he told you was wrong.”
Peter grips the edge of the table, shrinking into himself, “But -”
“Don’t let that asshole get to you, understand? He was just trying to make you feel bad, don’t let him win.”
Ned sides with Tony, “Yeah, man, don’t let him be the reason you wanna break up.”
Peter looks at his boyfriend in shock, suddenly sitting upright, “What?!”
Ah, so he didn’t hear me.
“I heard you when I was coming back from the bathroom. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help it.”
Ned moves his chair until he’s in front of the spider-boy and looks at him directly. He can hear Tony wheel away to give them some distance which he’s grateful for. He then grabs his boyfriend’s hand and gives it an encouraging squeeze, “What’s it gonna take for you to realize that I’m not going anywhere?”
Peter looks up at him for a brief second before looking back down in shame, gaze resting on their intertwined hands. He takes a deep breath, “Ned, you’re saying all this great stuff now but…what about when we get older?”
“What do you mean?”
“Y’know…I’m planning to die a virgin, I want to die a virgin. Sex doesn’t appeal to me.”
Ned looks at him in confusion.
We literally went over this before we got together.
He then says, “I know, we talked about this -”
“Yeah but I can’t expect you to be a virgin too.” Peter finally looks up at him, “You actually want to do the thing, I don’t wanna be the one stopping you -”
“Peter,” Ned grabs the other’s hand, giving both grips a tight squeeze, “You’re right, I’m not asexual, I have certain feelings that you don’t, and that’s okay. When I say that none of that matters to me, I mean it, I want to be with you, everything that encompasses you. You being asexual is just another thing I love about you.”
Peter’s cheeks blush and God, does Ned wish he can take a picture and keep it forever. The intern looks back down in embarrassment, “Ned….”
“I know people say it’s too young to say ‘I love you’ but I do, I’ve loved you for so long, as friends, as brothers...and now this.” Ned squeezes their hands again, “So, what d’ya say, Spider-Man?”
Said hero looks at his boyfriend, locks eyes with him. Ned can see the gears shifting, the math problems in his head that somehow coincide with his love life.
But most of all, Ned sees hope…trust, even.
How can a person see so much in someone’s eyes without them saying a word?
Love is so weird.
Peter suddenly lets go of their grip and gives the other a hug, clearly not caring about how awkwardly he’s leaning in his chair. Ned reciprocates, stunned from the unexpected action but happiness fills him at the obvious answer.
The spiderling whispers, arms still wrapped around his boyfriend, “You sound too good to be true.”
Ned leans more into the hug, borderline snuggling at this point, and says, smiling like a kid in a candy store, “Believe it, babe. I know it’s hard to believe but sometimes ‘Parker luck’ actually swings in your favor.”
“Don’t jinx it.” Peter concludes with a giggle, curling more into his hug as well. He then lifts his head and says, “I love you too” before giving Ned a kiss on the lips.
Ned kisses back, a heartfelt one to show that he’s not in this relationship for shits and giggles. They get lost in their kisses, arms embracing one another and no amount of force can break them apart.
Well, except a billionaire superhero who’s still sitting a few tables away from them, “Oh, get a room, I’m trying to keep my lunch down over here.”
Oh yeah…Iron Man is still here.
Whoops.
The teenagers start laughing as they separate from their grasp and they wheel back to the table, Tony joining them. The billionaire says as he starts messing with some part, “So you disgusting lovebirds made up, I presume?”
Peter rolls his eyes, looking at his other half, “We always do.”
“Good, good. So…you happen to know a certain ‘Lightning Bolt’s’ phone number?”
His kid rolls his eyes, more dramatic this time, “Mr. Stark, no -”
“It’s already set in stone, kid, nothing’s gonna change my mind. Maybe it’ll be easier to call the school.”
“No, look, it’s fine -”
“No it’s not, Peter. Look, I’m not gonna do anything drastic, I’m just gonna give him a slight…talking to.”
Ned looks at the spiderling, “Why do I get the feeling he’s not gonna ask for a cup of sugar?”
Peter snorts at the joke, turning to his mentor with a defeated expression on his face, “Just don’t kill him.”
Tony says, rolling his eyes himself, “Pete, y’know I don’t hurt minors.”
Ned scoffs at the older man, “Earlier you said you’d kill me if I hurt Peter.”
“Oh shit, you heard that?” Tony continues without giving Ned time to answer, “You’re an item, that’s completely different.” He then says gravely, “And don’t think I was bluffing.”
The young genius shrinks slightly under his gaze but he can’t help snicker, “Don’t worry, Mr. Stark, nothing like that’s gonna happen.”
Tony smiles mischievously in return, “Oh, I know.”
Peter then cuts in, face red as a lobster, “Oh my God, Mr. Stark, can you not be a ‘helicopter mom’ for five minutes?”
Tony reaches over and ruffles his hair, “I could, but if I don’t worry about you, then what the hell else am I gonna do with my day?”
“Literally anything else.”
Ned laughs as he watches the banter, so seamless and fun that he still has to pinch himself to remind him that yes, that is how Tony Stark acts, and yes, he totally sees Peter as his actual kid.
No matter how much Tony denies it.
The teen continues catching glimpses of Peter as they all continue their projects, forming an idea in his head of what to get him next to replace the stolen keychain.
Ned wants to go big but he knows how his boyfriend is. Sure, the whole school probably knows by now thanks to Flash but Peter still wouldn’t want to make a big thing out of it.
He stares nonchalantly at the Iron Spider suit, working on the last of the repairs from Peter’s last patrol. Then it hits him, eyes brightening with excitement.
It’ll be perfect.
Just small enough to where no one would notice, but big enough in importance to Peter.
Ned takes a glance at the other teen to see him distracted by working on web fluid. He then looks on his other side to see Tony working on some upgrades to his own suit.
Now’s his chance.
The sidekick, as quietly as he can, walks over to the other man and says, trying to stay casual to not get his boyfriend’s attention, “Hey, can I ask you something?”
-
“Hey Peter, I finished your suit.”
Peter turns around from his web fluid and smiles at the finished product, “Sweet, thanks, babe.”
Tony fake gags from a few tables away, “Still here, you buffoons.”
His intern fondly rolls his eyes, “Whatever.”
Ned turns to Peter, pointing to the finished suit, “Come look at it, I wanna make sure I did it right.”
“Dude, you’re one of the smartest people I know, I trust you.” The spiderling still walks over to him, nonetheless.
“I know, I’m just, uh, a perfectionist, I’m afraid I missed something.”
The young hero stops at the other’s work table, taking a good look at the suit. He confirms his suspicions, confusion evident on his face, “Yeah, looks good to me, great job as always.”
Ned lifts an eyebrow, biting his lip to keep from smirking, “Are you sure though? Just really at it.”
Peter’s eyes widen, “Didya put a bomb in here or something -”
“No, just look…really look.”
The other teenager finally does, slowly looking away from his boyfriend. He spends a few seconds staring at his suit, at all the nooks and crannies that make up the red, blue, and gold.
He lifts up one of the arms to look at the underside of it and gasps at what he sees.
There, on the Iron Spider suit, is a color that isn’t red, blue, or gold.
On the arm, about where the elbow would be, are two stripes, one thick and the other thin, that wrap all the way around his arm. The colors that make up those stripes are typically blue and gold.
Typically.
But Peter sees that those colors have been changed.
Instead of the blue and gold that was there, dark purple and white have taken their respective places.
He looks over at the other arm and sees the stripes changed there too. Where there was blue is now gray, and gold is now black.
From an outsider’s standpoint, the colors look like they could clash, but judging by the shock that’s unleashed on the spider-boy, Ned doesn’t think he cares.
“You -” Peter’s breath hitches up and he takes a second to hold himself together, “You put ace colors on my suit?”
The other teen leans against the work table, looking a bit smug, “Yeah, well…I couldn’t have done it without Mr. Stark, he got the parts and the paint together.” He gestures to the man in question but Tony still hasn’t looked up from his own suit, possibly giving his kid some time to for it to sink in, Ned thinks.
Peter turns to his father figure, looking for lack of a better word, stunned, “Mr. Stark, you did this?”
Tony shrugs, but a smile can obviously be seen, “It was the kid’s idea, I just helped put it in motion. How you didn’t know what we were doing while still having that annoying super-hearing is beyond me.” He then looks up, face scrunched slightly in anticipation, “Do you like it?”
“Like it?!” The protege looks back down at the suit, rubbing his hand over the new and shiny colors of purple and white. He lets out an almost silent sob that the other two pretend not to notice and he looks up at Ned, eyes more glossy than they were a few minutes ago, “I love it. Oh my God, I love it so much.”
He gives his boyfriend a hug, the biggest one he can muster, as another quiet sob escapes him, “Thank you, thank you so much, you don’t know how much I need this.”
I think I have an idea.
Ned wraps his own arms around him, embracing in such a bear hug that Peter might have to use his super strength to get out of it. He whispers in the other’s ear, “Even Spider-Man says you’re valid.”
Peter chuckles as he looks up and into his boyfriend’s eyes, grinning from ear to ear despite a couple of tears slowly flowing down his cheeks, “Just call me your ‘Friendly Neighborhood Asexual.’”
The other boy grins cheekily as he wipes away a tear, causing Peter’s face to turn slightly red and wipe the rest off himself. Ned says, hand still on the other’s cheek, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Peter concludes with a kiss and another round of hugging - which Ned would be an absolute fool to reject - taking in the comfort of each other’s warmth.
Once they separate, the hero rushes to his mentor, giving him a hug as well, along with a “thank you.” Ned looks on, a smile still glued on his face and nothing can be done or said to wipe it off.
He takes another look at the Iron Spider suit, absentmindedly rubbing over the new colors not unlike what Peter did earlier.
This will by no means solve everything. Peter will get insecure again, Ned doesn’t need a psychic to predict it. Something mean will be said, either online or in person.
As terrible as it is, that is reality.
But Ned will always be there to reassure Peter, tell him it’s okay, he’s not bored, he’s not going to cheat on him when his body gets that feeling his partner doesn’t have.
Ned would never leave him over something as minuscule and insignificant as sex.
Because he loves him.
All of him.